Lake Park In Melbourne Turns Pink Due To Natural Causes

A lake in Melbourne, Australia has captured the attention of Instagram users because it has turned pink. These recent weeks the man-made salt lake in Melbourne’s Westgate Park has turned pink and it looks absolutely stunning.

People have flooded the park, visiting to snap pictures of this phenomenon and posting them online.

Westgate Park is a nature park located in the heart of industrial Melbourne. According to TripAdvisor, the park used to be a wasteland but authorities decided to invest and transform the place into this beautiful heaven.

The park is now one of Melbourne’s examples of how a wasteland can be turned into a flourishing ecological and recreational wetland environment. The environment attracts visitors, Instagrammers, and animal lovers.

It is located along the eastern banks of the Yarra River under the Westgate Bridge and has been attracting visitors ever since summer 2013. After natural phenomena turn the waters into a beautiful shade of hot pink.

Authorities suggest visitors not to get to close to the water because despite an Instagram user joking it is not full of strawberry milk. The high water salt levels can irritate sensitive skin. So, it is recommended to proceed with caution.

The bright pink shade is created by sunlight, low rainfall, and warm temperatures. According to Westgate Biodiversity, the lake’s algae and halobacterium produce a red pigment which is called beto carotene.

People who have visited the place warned others of a sharp “rotting eggs” smell. Perhaps a metaphor for how not everything is as it looks on Instagram, right?

The lake’s pink color does not always stay this way. It turns into blue late Autumn when the temperatures get cooler. The lake is quite deep since it is less than a kilometer away from the sea. So, don’t go for a swim.

Even though it is a rare occurrence, phenomena such as these can be seen in lakes within Australia, Spain, Canad, and Senegal.